BATON ROUGE - As early voting kicks off, Louisianans will decide whether to raise the retirement age for judges.

Under current state law, judges are the only elected officials with an age limit. Once a judge turns 70, they cannot run for reelection, though they can serve out the rest of their term.

Voter Rose Kamerer wants to keep the current age limit.

"I think 70 is a fair age," Kamerer said.

Retired Judge Bob Downing sees it differently, saying people still have plenty of life to live at 70.

"People don't go stale at 70," Downing said. "You've got a lot of wisdom there, and that's useful, having had the experience."

The question sparked debate during last year's legislative session. State Rep. C. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge, said she believes the current limit goes too far.

"I believe that 70, having that on the judges, is discriminatory," Marcelle said. "There's no other mandate or an age limit on any other office," Marcelle said.

State Rep. Robby Carter, D-Greensburg, pushed back on raising the age beyond 70.

"You don't want judges up there who think that they're still good, but everyone's scared to tell them they're slipping a little bit," Carter said.

Louisiana is among 31 states plus the District of Columbia to have age limits for judges, and 70 is the lowest required retirement age. Vermont has the highest, set at 90.

Federal judges, however, serve for life so long as they have good conduct.